Perfecting Your Personal Statement for Health and Social Care Courses

Hollie Thompson, Student Recruitment and Outreach Officer for the School of Health and Social Care shares her advice for getting started with your personal statement and helping it stand out from the crowd.

​​​Struggling to start writing your personal statement for a course within the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Gloucestershire? Here are my top tips to help you feel prepared and confident.

The personal statement is undoubtedly a key part of the application process for university courses, allowing you to showcase your subject knowledge, relevant skills and experience and to stand out from others applying.

At the University of Gloucestershire, we are looking for applicants to have work experience or volunteering experience which demonstrates the types of skills that are key for these health and social care courses. How could you demonstrate, for example, proven communication with lots of different community groups and compassion and empathy for others? This experience could include in a care home, community hospital or charity shop for instance. It is also important to note that for our Physiotherapy course, we are looking for specific work experience whether that be within a physiotherapy clinic or shadowing a physiotherapist.

Secondly, try and avoid using empty statements. These are phrases often found in personal statements which provide no real information about you on their own. Examples might be “the Six Cs are important I can demonstrate all of them" or “I have proven teamwork and communication skills". Rather than using these standalone phrases, always link back to the experiences you've had (which could include hobbies and interests) that demonstrate these skills. In fact, make it really clear why you are applying to that specific course and what you will bring to it.

Last but not least, remember it is a personal statement after all. It should be unique to you, to enable you to stand out amongst a sea of other applications and be invited to an interview.

For more tips on writing your personal statement, you can chat to me or visit the UCAS website.